Having spent a lot of time on Mastodon… There are tons of people there talking about federated and self-hosted services, software freedom, censorship, encryption, tech regulation… A very narrow range of topics directly surrounding the fediverse get a lot of attention.

But nobody talks about anything else. Nobody goes to Instagram to talk about Instagram, nobody goes to Tiktok to talk about Tiktok, nobody goes to Facebook (at all). People use social media to either talk to their friends or talk about their hobbies and interests.

And if your hobby is tech, that’s fine, enjoy. I like tech too. But please, if you have anything else to say, say it. The fediverse will never appeal to the masses if we don’t embrace a wide variety of hobbies and interests.

We need people here talking about cooking. We need people here talking about fashion. We need people here talking about immigration policy. We need people here talking about everything people enjoy!

Yes, if you go to /m/fashion right now, it’s… barely there. You’re not going to get a ton of conversation when you post there. But that’s not the point. The point is to build out the community, so that, a year from now, as more and more people attempt to post and engage, there is a conversation. There’s a reason to be on the fediverse besides the meta circlejerk over how great the fediverse could be in theory.

This is the “content” people are craving. Find or start a magazine for your city, or your town, or your country. Write a post. Share posts from your favorite blogs. Comment on something, if you have anything to say at all. Share a youtube video—yes, a youtube video, I know, youtube sucks, but at least it gives us a path to a community here.

  • danhakimi@kbin.socialOP
    4·
    1 year ago

    I don’t WANT to make posts about fashion, cooking, politics, or non-techie things, but if you do, then by all means, please do that?

    I didn’t ask you to do those things, specifically. What kinds of hobbies do you have? Talk about those. If your topics are all tech-focused, that’s fine, keep talking about those, but I’m really hoping I see people here talk more about pomeranians and nail polish, even though I’m not into either, because those topics will engage people who are into those things.

    And now we both are breaking your rule: discussing things about the fediverse.

    I think you misread my post. I did not say people should not talk about the fediverse, I just think we should post about other things, too. Especially if we want to see the fediverse succeed, we need more than just the meta-conversation.

    • OpenStars@kbin.social
      1·
      1 year ago

      I do actually:-)

      Although the statement that:

      nobody talks about anything else

      is a direct quote from your post. We ARE talking about other things, just again, perhaps not at the frequency that you would like, or it being as discoverable as you would like.

      I did not like how you worded your post, as if we were not, when we ARE - and I gave examples of that happening, thousands and thousands and thousands of times all across the fediverse.

      If you want to take responsibility for the exact words that you said that may have mislead people into thinking that you are a Karen who is telling people what they “need” to do, then I offered my feedback in case that would be helpful. Fwiw, I do think you had a point, buried in there somewhere, I just think it is hard to find b/c your post had so many objectively false statements - “feels like” wording that if I stretch out really hard I could maybe guess at what you might have meant? (but which if you are honest with yourself, I hope you can see are factually incorrect)

      And mixed in along with the false statements are the extremely obvious ones like:

      People use social media to either talk to their friends or talk about their hobbies and interests.

      I mean… yeah?

      Admittedly, yes fashion does seem to be a neglected topic, but you cannot force people to create content for your amusement? Maybe make a post on Reddit about this place, targeted to fashion enthusiasts and gently advise them that this place exists too if they would want to come here? Or start posting there yourself, every single day and maybe multiple times a day, to help attract other like-minded individuals?

      Also, why pick on fashion, but then add on cooking, as if it is the same - isn’t that cherry-picking your details? Also:

      We need people here talking about immigration policy.

      But again, WE ARE - here’s an article that is not even 20 minutes old yet.

      TLDR: your post came across as telling others what to do, while not wanting to lead by example and actually do any of it yourself. Why not DO IT, rather than ask for all that work to be simply done for you? Again, I have no idea what thoughts were in your head as you wrote that, I’m simply saying that this is how your words strike me. Especially the statements that are outright falsehoods.

      But if you are not interested in knowing the effects of your words on others, then I am sorry to have bothered you. Fwiw, I do think you meant well.